


ode to tempests and totally sick flips

by ace_corvid



Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hot Chocolate, Isaac and Isabel's wonderful winter adventure, Paranatural Secret Santa 2020, Post-Canon, and fighting a yeti, happy holidays folks, including winter fun time activities like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28460988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ace_corvid/pseuds/ace_corvid
Summary: “Isabel!” Isaac marched into her room. She hadn't let him into the flat, so this was the work of one of her flatmates more than likely. Probably Sarah; she still thought his stupid dumb hair was cool. Just perfect, really. “We've got a problem.”(alternatively; Isaac and Isabel go to the same college, and run into a small problem before winter break.)
Relationships: Isabel Guerra & Isaac O'Connor
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15





	ode to tempests and totally sick flips

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Avery_Kedavra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avery_Kedavra/gifts).



> merry christmas avery! (for a week ago!) and perhaps more relevantly, happy new year! goodBYE 2020 you will not be missed hot damn
> 
> i am sorry for the lateness but hopefully you enjoy this regardless! i just found the idea of isabel and isaac getting closer post canon and ending up at the same college a fun concept and then remembered that this was technically supposed to be holiday themed so we ended up with this
> 
> title: from the depths of my hell mind that thought it was a good idea

Isabel really, well and truly, loved college. Getting out of Mayview had really been one of the best decisions of her life.

She loved the campus, she loved her major, and she even loved (most of) the people. Not to mention the low density, almost relaxing ghost population. They caused almost no issue. It was _nothing_ like Mayview had ever been- no constant wacky hi-jinks, tiring shenanigans or life threatening plot developments. Perhaps more accurately, no ghost related ones, at least. She was still at college, after all. It was basically an amazingly mundane paradise, with essentially _no_ spectrals around for miles. 

_Well_ . Barring  _one_ .

“Isabel!” Isaac marched into her room. She hadn't let him into the flat, so this was the work of one of her flatmates more than likely. Probably Sarah; she still thought his stupid dumb hair was cool. Which was just perfect, really. Isabel  _loved_ that. “We've got a problem.”

“How did you get  _in_ ?” She groaned, nearly shoving her head in her suitcase.

“I have my ways.” He rolled his eyes. “Look at this.”

It riled Isabel to admit it, it really did, but growing up had really done nothing to settle the Activity Club. Were they more mature? Of course they were, they weren't the same people they had been and it'd be wrong to expect them to be. But at the core of it all, they were still the same loud and proud kids they'd been when they met. Isabel was still a rowdy jock, just studying sports psych, Ed was a still a huge chaotic nerd, and Max was still a skater boy wannabe, except now he could actually skate. And Isaac? Same old geek, though maybe  _slightly_ better at art, considering he was doing his degree in it. 

Truly, he was one of her closest friends. It wasn't as if Isabel had picked this college for no reason- she'd known Isaac was here, and she'd trusted his opinion of the place. And now that she was attending, they hung out as much as they, studying together and going for coffee whenever they got the chance. Isabel honestly loved him, like she did everyone else in the activity club. They were practically family.

There was literally no one she'd like to be in her room  _less_ .

“Isaac, I'm packing.” Isabel sighed. “Whatever it is, can it wait? I'm supposed to be setting off home for winter break today.”

“No one's going to be setting off anywhere unless we do something about this.” He replied darkly. She took a moment to stare at the ceiling before turning around with a huff to face him, leaving her suitcase haphazardly half packed on the bed.

“What's the sitch, drama queen?”

Isaac rolled his eyes at the nickname, but tossed her his phone. Effortlessly catching it, all it took was a look at the headline of the article on the screen for her mood to drop through the floorboards.

“A  _snowstorm?_ ” She whisper-yelled. “What can we do about that?”

“According to Boss Leader? Everything. I just got the call; nothing about this storm is natural. So, if we sort out the spirit, we should still both be able to get home for winter break.”

“We're not supposed to be active duty.” Isabel tried not be smile, but she couldn't help the smirk that worked it's way onto her face. She should probably be more upset about this than she was, but the fight was already itching in her bones. It'd been a long while, and she wasn't ashamed to admit she'd missed this.

Isaac took one look at her expression and groaned. He'd never quite loved this part the same way she had, and it showed in his- well, everything. 

“Boss Leader,” He ground out. “has asked us to consider it a favour.”

“We get to fight a spirit  _and_ Boss Leader will owe us a favour?” Isabel whistled. “All I'm seeing is positives. Talk about a Christmas miracle.”

“Yeah well,” Isaac snorted. “I just really need to get home this Christmas. If I manage it,  _that_ would be the miracle. Sue and Jim have put up with a lot from me over the years and I  _promised_ this that time I'd be home on time.”

“Oh, yeah.” She snapped her fingers and pointed. “The new foster sister.”

“The new foster sister.” Isaac nodded. “They're human, yknow? They've never understood all of the weird problems I've continued to afflict them with, never mind the normal problems, which are somehow _worse_ . But they will never forgive me if I don't make it home to meet her when I swore I would.”

Isabel took a moment to smile. “You never used to call Sue and Jim's home, yknow. It's nice to hear it.”

“I was an angsty middle schooler who didn't know a blessing in disguise when it slapped me in the face.” Isaac shrugged. “And what can I say? Therapy and meds work wonders.”

“Imagine going to therapy.” She snorted.

“You are a sports psychology major, Iz.”

“Yeah.  _Sports_ psychology.”

“That's still psychology!” Isaac threw his hands up into the air indignantly. 

Isabel shrugged smugly and Isaac just let it go, which was a sign of progress all on it's own. “So we just have to kick this spirits ass before we go home? Is that what you're telling me?”

“Sure is.” 

“Then let's get to it.” Isabel walked to her closet. “We're gonna need a bigger coat.”

Apparently, finding the snow spirit so they could beat it eight ways to Sunday was easier said than done.

“ _Where_ is this spirit so I can make it disappear into the ether already?” She spat, shivering, brandishing Flip Flop's umbrella in the air like a sword. Flip Flop was coming to the end of this particular inhabitation, so the red material was dimpled with a shell-like pattern, and the handle was no longer curved properly, instead resembling a shape closer to his hat. Even the texture had become a little cardboard like, to match his box.

Isaac was clearly coming to the end of King C's inhabitation too, and the boy couldn't be happier to finally get rid of the same hairstyle he'd had for years as the storm spirit's medium. 'And I'll be rid of his attitude, too' he'd said excitedly the last time they'd chatted about it. Because King C's energy was so close to being recovered, Isaac himself looked something a little left of inhuman. His eyes were an impossibly bright electric blue that almost seemed to glow, his hair still stood up on end all by itself, and his fingernails had turned permanently black. He also always seemed to be followed by some sort of draft, which was just plain annoying. 

His freckles has morphed into Lichtenberg figures too, but everyone knew those weren't going to leave with King C. They didn't talk about that, though.

“I can't see the snow spirit for all the snow!” He bit out, clearly already sick of this endeavour before it had even begun.

“Amazing observation, Einstein.” Isabel said, rolling her eyes.

“I live to please.” He snarked. Isabel smothered her irritation as they marched through the truly awful weather.

“Can King C do anything, since this weather spirit is probably weaker?” She yelled over the roaring wind.

Isaac sped ahead of her a little quickly as he jumped into spirit trance. Unsurprisingly, he looked even more ticked off than he had been when he went in. All this time and he and King C had decided that they'd just never get along.

“No.” Isaac's voice hummed with annoyance, but not anger. Isabel sighed.

“Sucks.” She grimaced.

“Sucks.” He agreed.

Silence permeated the air around them as they continued to walk, and Isabel pulled out her phone to stave it off.

**Isabel** : max max max im yelling im screaming you will not believe what is happening to me

**Max** : lemme take a wild guess- you and isaac are ghost hunting and its not going well

**Isabel** : he's texting you about it?

**Max** : yeah, which means im in the wondrous position of pointing out to you both that focusing on finding the spirit instead of talking to me ME would literally solve all of your problems

 **Max** : also literally why are you texting me instead of, idk, talking to Isaac who is actually there with you

**Isabel** : idk just am. why, is now a bad time?

**Max** : no, it's just not my fault that your middle school issues are haunting you more than the actual spirits are in this situation

**Isabel** : first of all, me and Isaac are fine, stop psychoanalysing our relationship when you're not even here

 **Isabel** : second of all, i don't need you to be a sarcastic edgelord I need you to HELP ME

 **Isabel** : and i helped you and Johnny when you were hunting down that godforsaken bouncy ball spirit the other month!! so you legally have to!!!

**Max** : we dont TALK about that spirit, BUT that is true so, sure, here's your help: TALK TO UR STUPID FRIEND

**Isabel** : i am talking to my stupid friend

**Max** : ah yes, insulting me, the perfect way to get me to do what you want

**Isabel** : you're gonna be a petty bastard about this aren't you?

**Max** : i couldn't possibly know what you mean

 **Max** : oh damn would u look at that sorry iz johnny is blowing stuff up rn gtg

**Isabel** : the worst thing is is that I can't tell whether that's a genuine excuse or not

 **Isabel** : either way you're still a COWARD

Worst thing was, he probably _wasn't_ wrong. Which was irritating.

“Ok.” Isabel stowed her phone away in her pocket. “If this thing is so good at hiding, chances are it's probably weak sauce, right?”

Isaac shrugged, but gave her a small smile. “I don't know, Iz. Rule of cool can be pretty powerful.”

“Yeah but that's like, fiction. This is _real life_ Isaac.”

“When has  _real life_ ever done us any favours? We're currently haunting down a paranormal construct made out of ectoplasm, spectral energy and sheer  _spite,_ we got directions here from a  _dead man_ , and we plan fight said construct with my magic superpower's given to me by the god dog living in my head, and your magic umbrella with a street dancing turtle living inside it.”

“What's your point?” She deadpanned.

“Well, yeah, I guess this has always been your normal, huh?” Isaac raised an eyebrow. “You were raised with this stuff, but some of us had to get hijacked by spirit's or have a near death experience to become a spectral. We had regular human lives before, and lemme tell you, everything about this is  _weird_ . We're weird.”

“You've been a spectral longer than you've been a regular human now though, haven't you?”

“Oh god ew, don't say that. It makes me feel so  _old_ .” Isaac pushed at her playfully, and Isabel laughed, punching him in the shoulder back.

Isaac's first mistake was, following this, picking up a handful of snow and dumping it down her back.

If she had any say in it, it would be the last mistake he ever made.

She flung three handfuls of snow straight in his face, then flipped around to the back of him using her umbrella, stuck a pile in his hood, and threw it over his head.

He shrieked so loud everything for miles probably heard it.

“Oh it is  _on!_ ” He yelled, picking up another handful of snow and throwing it right at her as she belly laughed at the sight of the freezing water currently dripping down his shoulders and soaking his back.

Isabel had been so busy with her uni work lately, it felt like a weight lifted off of her chest. With no spectral duties, no Ed and so much to do, it kinda felt like she'd forgotten how to have fun. Isaac tried to drag her out as much as he could, and vice versa, but he was just as busy, being an art student drowning in coursework. 

It feels kinda nice, to just act like they're kids again, play-fighting in the snow.

Isaac summoned a mountain of perfectly spherical snowballs beside him, and started flinging them at her rapid fire using his wind powers.

“Weather based abilities are  _totally cheating_ !” She yelled at him, pointing her finger accusingly.

“I'm using the terrain to my advantage!” He smiled wickedly.

“You making  _snow out of thin air_ has nothing to do with  _terrain_ !” She tried to shield her face from the blows as a mix of Isaac's wind and the  _actual_ wind nearly toppled her over into a snow drift.

“Well it's not out of  _thin_ air.” Isaac paused to ponder. “I'm pretty sure I'm using water vapour or something- though that being said, I don't really manipulate heat so, maybe I  _am_ doing it out of thin air? I'm not a stem kid and I don't wanna be, so I don't really know about the specific sciences of weather but isn't lightning just like, heat? So  _am I_ manipulating temperature when I make lightning? That begs the question about the rain clouds I can make too though because-”

Isaac was tragically interrupted by a snow ball straight to the face. Isabel hadn't laughed this hard in  _weeks_ . She was doubled over, breathless, dizzy, and it felt  _great_ . 

She'd almost forgotten why she was here until she saw fear grace Isaac's features, as his gaze fell to something clearly behind her. Because of course it was behind her. She always got stuck with the worst tropes.

She sighed. “How big is it?”

“Rule of cool really came in clutch.” He swallowed.

“Just give it to me straight.” She face palmed. “What are we dealing with?”

“First of all, I can not possibly do anything straight.” He said weakly. “Second of all, that is a fucking yeti.”

She paused.

“There's a yeti behind me right now?” She asked.

“Seems to be.” He nodded.

“Ok then.” She turned around to face the creature. 

Isaac had not been kidding. It was big. Big, and hairy, and definitely a yeti. Veritably abominable. Snow danced around it, the flurry more intense the closer to the beast's skin it got- one hundred percent the weather manipulation spirit they were looking for then, the one causing the storm. It pulsed with an icy blue energy, too pale to be anything like Isaac's but nowhere near white, either. Thank god it wasn't a wight- Isabel genuinely might have cried if she had to put up with another one of those. But it was powerful, if it could cause mayhem on this level. And if she wanted to be home for the holiday's, it had to go.

If she were anyone else, she might have wished for a fire spirit, to make it easy.

She was not anyone else.

And this would be fun.

“You're insane.” Isaac commented from behind her, cracking with lightning and pulling himself up from the floor. Storm clouds circles around him menacingly as he locked eyes with the yeti.

“You're with me, so really, who's to say you're not too?” Isabel smirked.

Isaac's eyes were like conductive metal as he smiled back. “Let's do this.”

In the end, it was over far too quickly for Isabel's liking.

The yeti really didn't stand a chance, between the both of them. Isabel was flipping every chance she got, disorientating the beast, and Isaac took to electrocuting it like it was personal. Which it might have been, actually. Being a spectral had caused so much trouble with his human family over the years, it wasn't even funny, and he really did need to get home. 

The nearest item the last dregs of it's existence could find was a tree branch. It wasn't really all that close to Isaac's spectral energy, but it was still too blue for him to carry without disturbing King C, even if just a little, so Isabel ended up using it as a hiking stick. And if she slammed it into the ground maybe a little  _too_ hard, that was no ones business but her own.

“I,” Isaac paused for drama. “am so cold.”

“I'm  _freezing_ .” Isabel agreed. “Feel like coming back to mine to warm up?”

“Shouldn't you pack?” He raised an eyebrow, wrapping his arms around himself further. His ear muffs had been a tragic casualty of the fight, so his ears were as bright red as his nose in the frosty air.

“Shouldn't you?” She countered. “When are Sue and Jim expecting you?”

“Not till tomorrow night.” He said. “I've got time, but weren't you meant to be leaving today?”

“I always have time for friends.” She laughed. “And it'd be sad to drink hot chocolate alone, after a snowball fight as intense as that.”

A soft, fond smile made it's way onto Isaac's face. “Sure then. You better have marshmallows.”

“Should do.” Isabel said. “As long as Sarah hasn't eaten them. She really is the  _worst_ room mate.”

“Well-” Isaac began, then cut himself off.

“What?” Isabel nudged him with her shoulder.

“We could always get a place together. Next year.” He said, stilted. “If you wanted to. Maybe we could manage to get a place close enough to some of the other's colleges too, like a halfway point.”

Isabel beamed. “That sounds amazing, Iz. I would love to do that.”

The rest of the way back to her dorm felt shorter, after that, and they felt lighter in turn.

“And then Isaac released this  _huge_ burst of wind-”

“-Isabel whacked him in the head, which was the only reason he fell over really-”

“-He was pretty much already fried cos of Isaac's lightning-”

“-And Izzy was like, buggin' it out because she was flipping everywhere like she was Max in middle school or something-”

“- _Hey!_ ” Max cut in over the Skype call with a grin. “ _I wasn't that bad._ ”

“ _You were._ ” Dimitri raised an eyebrow with a grin, and Max scowled but didn't protest further.

“ _I can't believe I missed that fight_ .” Ed guffawed. “ _I've missed the Activity club so much, you have no idea._ ”

“Yeah, it brought back a lot of memories.” Isabel sat, mug of hot chocolate in hand, melting into the couch as the fuzzy image of the others played out on Isaac's old laptop.

“And we miss you guys a lot too.” Isaac smiled into his cup, casually leaning against Isabel under the same blanket.

“ _It's easier for you guys._ ” Ed rolled his eyes. “ _At least you have each other._ ”

They both locked eyes and grinned.

“Yeah.” Isabel said, smug. “We do.”

**Author's Note:**

> your honour,,,, i lomf them
> 
> you can find me at:  
> Tumblr: ace-corvid.tumblr.com  
> Twitter: twitter.com/ace_corvid  
> come yell at me!
> 
> thank you so much for reading, see you next time! And if you enjoyed this, a comment would really make my day!


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